Concentration Signals: Difference between revisions

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==Description==
The Royal Navy used a variety of visual methods to help multiple ships [[Concentration|concentrate]] their fire upon a single target.
By courtesy of Mr. John A. Roberts.


The concentration dials introduced in the Royal Navy in the latter part of the First World War were arranged like a clock with a short and long hand except that 12 o'clock was replaced by ''''0'''' and the remaining numbers (Roman '''I''' to '''IX''') stopped at 9 o'clock.  The hour hand indicated 1000 yard steps the minute hand 100 yard steps. There was also an arm at the back of the dial with a disc at the end which sat at the outer edge of the dial and could be aligned with number '''0''', '''II''' or '''III''' indicating 10000 yard steps.  This arrangement covered ranges from 100 yards to 29,900 yards in 100 yard steps and was used to indicate the gun range in use.  These dials were officially described in various ways including "range dial" and "clock dial" and probably quite a few others both official and unofficial.  Many ships also had a second dial which was exactly like a clock (numbers '''I''' to '''XII''', short and long hand) which was used for passing spotting information using a numeric code. The Type 31 was also employed to pass spotting and target indication information but could be used to pass other information as well (including range if necessary) — the method was
==Visual Training Marks==
(initially at least) left to the ships to employ whatever system worked best.
The Royal Navy would paint hash marks on the sides of some turrets to permit nearby ships to see the angle of training.
 
==Range==
A ship could indicate the [[Gun Range|range]] it was firing to on large indicators mounted on its tops.  Two basic designs for these displays were used:  drums and dials.
 
===Range Dials===
:[[Range Dial|<small>Main article</small>]]
These generally took the form of one or two dials of 4- to 10-feet in diameter with hands arranged to indicate the gun range.  Often, the gun range was decomposed by separate hands indicating 100s, 1000s and 10000s of yards.  Simple mechanical levers were used to transmit the hand positions.
 
===Concentration Drums===
Prior to the pre-eminence of the dial-based designs, a few ships briefly had cylindrical drums which indicated the range in a digital manner.  These designs were found to be much harder to read.
 
==See Also==
*[[Concentration]]
 
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
 
==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
*Schleihauf, William (April, 1998). "A Concentrated Effort: Royal Navy Gunnery Exercises at the End of the Great War."  ''Warship International'' '''35''' (2): pp. 117–139.
*''Manual of Gunnery in H.M. Fleet, Volume III, 1920''.
{{refend}}
 
[[Category:Fire Control]]
[[Category:Shipboard Equipment]]

Latest revision as of 16:36, 3 July 2012

The Royal Navy used a variety of visual methods to help multiple ships concentrate their fire upon a single target.

Visual Training Marks

The Royal Navy would paint hash marks on the sides of some turrets to permit nearby ships to see the angle of training.

Range

A ship could indicate the range it was firing to on large indicators mounted on its tops. Two basic designs for these displays were used: drums and dials.

Range Dials

Main article

These generally took the form of one or two dials of 4- to 10-feet in diameter with hands arranged to indicate the gun range. Often, the gun range was decomposed by separate hands indicating 100s, 1000s and 10000s of yards. Simple mechanical levers were used to transmit the hand positions.

Concentration Drums

Prior to the pre-eminence of the dial-based designs, a few ships briefly had cylindrical drums which indicated the range in a digital manner. These designs were found to be much harder to read.

See Also

Footnotes

Bibliography

  • Schleihauf, William (April, 1998). "A Concentrated Effort: Royal Navy Gunnery Exercises at the End of the Great War." Warship International 35 (2): pp. 117–139.
  • Manual of Gunnery in H.M. Fleet, Volume III, 1920.

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